{"id":2082,"date":"2025-12-03T12:53:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T11:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.steppingstonerentals.com\/blog\/?p=2082"},"modified":"2025-12-03T12:53:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T11:53:15","slug":"turron-roscon-and-a-guy-pooping-in-the-nativity-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.steppingstonerentals.com\/blog\/turron-roscon-and-a-guy-pooping-in-the-nativity-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"Turr\u00f3n, Rosc\u00f3n… and a Guy Pooping in the Nativity Scene?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the Christmas season dawning upon us, officially marked by the hoards of people headed down to Plaza Ayuntamiento to watch someone turn on the fairy lights, it’s a good time to talk about the unique traditions that make Spanish Christmas so special. We’ll have another blog post up next week, filling you in on the various festivities coming up, so keep an eye out for that. Now, let’s get into this weeks guide – leaving the best until last!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sento, CC BY 2.0 https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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No Turkey? No Problem. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Forget everything you know about your typical Christmas dinner. Depending on where you’re from, you might be picturing a turkey, green bean casserole, an assortment of pies.. In my case, yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, roasted parsnips, honey roasted ham… Ok, I might be slightly biased. Although tradition will vary from region to region, and household to household, one thing generally holds true, Spanish families swap the meat for seafood. While certain products like cheese, ham, turr\u00f3n and seafood are popular with most of the country, there are some regional differences, with areas like Andaluc\u00eda featuring seafood heavy dishes, prawns, crab legs etc whilst up north in Cantabria the typical dish is caracoles (snails) en salsa o a la monta\u00f1esa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emblematic Christmas postre has to be Turr\u00f3n <\/em>or Polvorones <\/em>– you can’t go wrong with bringing that to a Christmas party. Turr\u00f3n is a kind of nougat, typically it comes in thick bars made from ground almonds, sugar, honey and egg whites although plenty of variations have been created throughout the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s two main players in the Turr\u00f3n game: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turr\u00f3n de Alicante:<\/strong> Hard, brittle nougat with whole almonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turr\u00f3n de Jijona:<\/strong> Soft, smooth nougat made from ground almonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we have Polvorones<\/em> – I would argue this is quite an acquired taste. Similar to mantecados (shortbread) they are made with wheat flour, sugar, lard cinnamon and occasionally ground almonds. However, polvorones have a slightly more powdery texture, and have been traditionally associated with Christmas due to their main ingredients typically being harvested in autumn, so by the 19th century they were established at Christmas markets in towns like Estepa<\/strong> and Antequera<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spain waits for the Kings (Not the Guy in the Red Suit)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While the rest of us are already packing away our tinsel and cracking open our 2026 planners, in Spain the festive season is still in full swing! I never quite understood that the main day of celebrations, especially when it comes to gift-giving, doesn\u2019t fall on December 25th, but on January 6th. Yes, after New Year\u2019s Day! The night before, the Three Kings parade through Valencia on floats in the Cabalgata<\/em>, tossing out sweets and waving to kids\u2014though I\u2019ve noticed a fair few adults elbowing their way to the front, too. It\u2019s also the perfect moment for little ones to give their favorite kings a polite reminder about their wish lists\u2014as seen in the viral video a few years ago of a kid reminding Baltasar to bring him a brand-new patinete<\/em> (electric scooter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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